


Spikes

by KarmaSpitter



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Hana is too curious for her own good, Lúcio hates his neighbor, Lúcio just wants to relax for once, Mer!Ana, Mer!D.Va, Mer!Junkrat, Mer!Pharah, Mer!Roadhog, Mer!Widowmaker, Multi, and then pops at first sign of danger
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2018-08-16 18:42:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8113252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarmaSpitter/pseuds/KarmaSpitter
Summary: He thought losing his job was the worse thing to ever happen to him, that is until he had a Mermaid steal his headphones.





	1. Chapter 1

He was annoyed at everything at this point in time. While he wasn't exactly an anti-social person, quite the opposite actually, social interaction would leave him severely drained.  
Working in retail will do that to you. Well for him, not so much anymore. He'd need to worry about paying his bills somehow now. But, he'll worry about that later, upon noticing his downstairs neighbor stepping inside her apartment as he reached the top steps.

  
He was quick to change out of his old work clothes, pull on something far more comfortable, and run out the door with his headset and music player before she would even have the chance to even think about filing a noise complaint against him.  
Truthfully, he didn't at all understand why his downstairs neighbor loathed him so much. She had been fairly polite when she had first moved into the building. Course he missed his old downstairs neighbor, Genji, who had moved in with these two women, Angela and Fareeha, who he kinda suspected they all had a little thing going on but honestly, that was none of his business. Besides, he kept in contact with Genji via text.  
But his new neighbor, Satya, he thought they were on okay standards. Until she filed a noise complaint against him. Sure she believed she was the living embodiment of all things order, but come on, let people live their own lives. He hadn't even been that loud.

  
So best to just get out of the house and worry about her later. He got something cheap to eat for dinner, seeing as he was kind of out of a job at this point, before he headed down to the beach.  
After finding his own little hideaway from the rest of the beach, he settled down with his back against a rock facing the ocean. Pulling his dreadlocks out of his face, he then pulled on his headphones before turning on the music to settle down and finally relax after such a long day.

 

  
A bit too relaxed apparently as he must've fallen asleep as he was now being roused by the feeling of his, still playing mind you, headphones being gently tugged off of his head. He could see the wire which still connected the headphones to his music player tugging as though whoever had been taken his headphones was trying to listen to the music. He sat up with a groan, his back sore from leaning on the rock for so long. Before he turned back to see who had taken his headphones.

  
To his utter shock, there was a girl sitting right behind him on the rock. Now staring back at him with dark brown eyes like that of a startled deer. Her hair was brown and frazzled by the sea water. But not only that, she had no legs, where her legs should have been ended in a rippling purple fish-like tail. Vibrant purple scales covered the expanse of her... tail along with decorating in various paint-like splotches on her chest, arms, and even her face. Most noticeably in three perfect swipes on both of her cheeks.

  
To his surprise, she tossed the headphones back to him before backing off of the rock. Her eyes watching him as though he were now a threat.

He stared back at her before raising a hand to give her a wave. When she puffed out. Quite literally. Anywhere there were visible scales on her became visible with very large spikes, almost like that of an oversized pufferfish. He of course, backed up, not willing to be poisoned before she did the same, sinking underwater with a splash and leaving him once more in complete silence.

 

"Alright, now my day got even worse than I thought it could ever be." he mumbled, staring at the very waters where that girl had disappeared to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new story to start off, I love Mermaid AUs and decided to do one with Lúcio and D.Va. Mermaid D.Va is actually based on the Takifugu vermicularis, also known as the Purple Pufferfish. Seemed fitting to include her Ult without literally making her blow up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He isn't just going to go home and pretend what he saw had never happened, and it's a good thing he did.

Knowing full well that what he had seen hadn't just been his imagination, he knew that whatever he had seen was definitely still there in the waters. So he settled back down into the sand, now facing towards the ocean before pulling out his phone. Needing to distract himself from this tense situation.   
He had a text message from his old neighbor, Genji, received at 12:21 PM.

  
[Just woke up. Angie's cowboy fetish of a friend fucking kicked down my door, and was all like yelling, "IT'S HIGH NOON, BITCH" and threw my brother on me??????]

[wait appARENTLY THEYRE FUCKING WHAT THE?!]

[AM I SERIOUSLY THE ONLY ONE WHO IS NOW LEARNING THIS?]

[SERIOUSLY????]

 

He cracked a smile, before sending his own text. Leaning down to unwrap his tuna sandwich, don't want it to go to waste now.  
[[oh Jesse's bf Hanzo? he's ur bro?]] 

[Don't play stupid Lúcio]

[[I'm not, they seriously announced their relationship on facebook like two months ago]]

[You know I don't use that shit site]

[You're off early today]

[[Lost my job]]

[Shit really????]  
[Sorry to hear man]

 

[[Yeah-]]

This is the text he had begun to write when he heard splashing once more, his eyes shot up once again. To see the same girl peering over at him from around the rock. He dared not move as he watched her. She was sniffing in his general direction.

At first, he thought she wouldn't get close, seeing as how she had reacted initially only mere minutes prior. Then to his shock, she began... shuffling herself out of the water towards him.  
Lúcio went still as a statue as she edged within view, mainly due to her spikes before and not wanting to be seen as a threat. She got really close, he having to carefully lean back as to not be deemed as a threat. It was at this moment that he realized, she had nothing covering her chest. Being respectful, he glanced away at that point before feeling his sandwich being wrenched out of his hands.  
She then scuttled back towards the water with his sandwich in tow. "Hey!" he gasped loudly.  
She turning back and hissing sharply at him before ducking back into the water. With his sandwich in tow. "That was my dinner." he mumbled, sounding almost defeated.

  
Least he still had his chips, he thought, opening the bag. Of course she poked her head up when the bag was opened. Lúcio groaned, shaking his head before he stood up to approach.  
She backed away slightly but soon regained interest as the bag was offered to her. "Here then," he started, offering the bag out to her. "Want some Doritos?"  
She edged closer, sniffing at the bag before shuttering back and hissing at it almost as though she were personally offended by it. Respecting that, he pulled the bag away from her.  
"Alright, understandable then." he said, putting the bag aside before he dropped to crouch near the water's edge. Staring at the mermaid? Mer-Puffer? The hell was he even suppose to call her in the first place?

"It's alright, I'm friendly." he called to her. She not responding, only looking to him with confused eyes. He placed a hand to his chest. "I'm Lúcio, do you have a name?"  
She scuttled closer, her eyes on him the entire time until she was in the shallows. Before opening her mouth, only instead of a hiss, he was shocked to hear a reply. "Hana." she replied, her accent sounded almost Asian. Not Chinese or Japanese, it sounded like something else, like Vietnamese or Thai, he wasn't exactly perfect with pinpointing accents.

  
So he meets a Mermaid (Mer-Pufferfish???) and she can at least speak so at least there's that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone likes this story, it won't be as frequently updated liked Tied or Breakdown unless people show it immense interest, which my guess is, sounds very likely.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Learns a Mermaid (Merpufferfish???)'s name, she gets spooked and disappears.  
> He only wants to go home and rest, his friends aren't having any of that.

"Hana?" he repeated before she nodded silently. "Alright then, it's my pleasure to meet you Hana." She only stared at him in silence, staring at him with calculating eyes.  
"Uh... not much of a talker then are you?" he asked, before she was scuttling back again. Before ducking back underwater and out of sight. Leaving him in silence as the sun dipped below the waters. He sighed, gathering up all of his belongings and garbage before he left the beach. Not realizing that he had forgotten his sunglasses.

 

After several minutes had past and Lúcio had shown no sign of returning, an arm darted from the waters picking up the glasses before disappearing into the dark waves with the item now in hand.

 

 

Lúcio struggled his way up the stairs towards his apartment. After unlocking the door and flipping on the lights for his tiny apartment, he stumbled his way over to his couch before flopping down, completely wiped out. 

So lost his job... and met a Mermaid (MerPufferfish????), what else could happen today? His phone rang, causing him to jerk up in surprise. He accepted the call before putting the cellphone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey Lúcio." came the voice of Genji. "Come on down, we're going out to eat."

He blinked in confusion upon hearing his friend say this. "Genji, I lost my job, I can't exactly go out to eat. And you like the expensive places I can't even afford to tip at." he stated, leaning back into his couch.

"No no no, it's my treat. Angela, Fareeha, and Lena are all coming along." Genji said.

"Yes, so Lena and I can sit awkwardly while the three of you are making out." Lúcio responded, sitting up in his seat. "And don't even try to say that we don't have to. I've told you that I'm not interested in Lena, and I don't even think she likes guys to begin with. Not that there's anything wrong with that, Lena's a nice girl, but I'm not exactly her type."

"Alright alright. But hurry up, we're outside and I think that chick living in my old apartment is trying to curse me with her eyes." Genji sounded like he shuttered. "Damn lady stop staring at me or my girlfriends might get the wrong idea. It's not the first time Fareeha has fought with a girl.... probably won't be the last- OW!"

Lúcio hung up his phone before he stood back up onto his feet. He dusted off his clothes, before he grabbed his keys. After doing that, he left his apartment, locking the door but leaving the light on. He'd need it on for when he returned later.

 

After he made his way out to the street, he found Genji's car and hopped into the passenger seat. Angela was sitting in the backseat behind him, Fareeha was beside her, and Lena was trapped in between the two.

"Hey guys." Lúcio greeted as he buckled up.

"Evenin' Lúcio." Lena greeted from her cramped spot, although she was always all smiles.

"Hello." Fareeha greeted with a short nod, Angela giving him a small wave.

"Alright, let's get a move on then or we're gonna have to wait to eat." Genji said, as he shifted the car into drive. "We're meeting up with Jesse and my brother for dinner."

"I'm okay with that." Lúcio replied as he settled back into his seat.

"Genji's not." Lena teased.

 

Lúcio laughed with Angela and Lena as Genji pulled away and drove away from his apartment. He didn't notice his neighbor, Satya watching the car drive off before letting her curtains drop.

The lights in her apartment soon went dark before Satya's thin build left the apartment, before she headed off towards the beach in silence.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group joins Jesse McCree and Genji's brother, Hanzo Shimada, when Angela is called into work on an emergency.  
> Leaving Jesse, Hanzo, Lúcio, Lena, and Fareeha to converse. What sorts of things do they choose to talk about?

They'd arrived at the restaurant of Genji's choice, a Japanese Hibachi Grill. No surprise there, but Lúcio didn't mind at all. Well slightly, he hated depending on others, even if they insisted on paying. When they stepped inside, they were quickly waved over to a large table by Jesse McCree. Beside him sat a brooding Hanzo Shimada.

  
Lúcio had met Jesse McCree on more than one occasion. Nothing really solid, it was more of a friend of a friend situation. Didn't matter to Jesse much, the more the merrier. Jesse was the best friend of Angela, they were both actually the same age, but he was essentially almost Fareeha's brother as Jesse had been practically raised by Fareeha's illusive Mother, Ana.

  
Angela Ziegler had your standard blonde hair and blue eyes combo, thin, not to mention extremely caring. She worked as a surgeon in the nearby hospital and cared for her patients. She was in a consenting polyamorous relationship with both Genji and Fareeha. This confused everyone, not because of their relationship oh no, but because Genji's and Fareeha's personalities alone clashed. Genji was a playboy, Fareeha was militaristic, and Angela was mature. But somehow, they all just made it work and were happy.

Fareeha Amari was Egyptian, and if she even heard you use the term "exotic beauty" in reference to her, just know that she would in fact punch you right in the face. There were some unspoken issues she had with her Mother as well, Lúcio never bothered to ask about it because it wasn't his business.

Genji Shimada was quite obviously Japanese, he used to be Lúcio's old neighbor up until nearly a year ago when Genji had finally moved in with both Fareeha and Angela. He and Lúcio had been fairly close before and remained friends.

  
Then there was Lena Oxton, a happy go lucky British girl. She had been old friends of Genji, Angela, and Jesse. She worked at the same hospital as Angela, but a different sector of it. Lúcio remembered her mentioning something about patient rehabilitation as one major aspect of her job.

  
But of the occupants of the dinner table, it was Hanzo Shimada that Lúcio didn't fully know. He knew that he was Genji's older brother, was Jesse's new boyfriend, and knew that out of all of them, Hanzo was far older. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable in the social situation.  
Hanzo had been sitting in between Genji and Jesse, sipping water the entire time as the rest of them conversed. Jesse's arm draped across his shoulder as they talked. Lúcio had given Hanzo a smile just to at least make him feel welcome. But had only gotten a scowl from the elder man.

 

 

After only an hour of small chitchat, they'd all been prepared to begin to order dinner when Angela's pager went off signalling that she was being called into work for something. She looked worried, looking to Genji who only nodded. "Sorry about this guys, but Angela needs to get to work. I'll be back shortly." he said before excused himself and Angela from the table and left. Once they did, everyone looked at Fareeha, wondering if this was code for something.  
She set down her glass before looking at the remaining party. "It's after eight and we both know Angela has no patients, it's the only time she's free really. She gets called in, it means someone was brought in and is in serious condition. Serious enough to need a tough professional, which basically is Angela." Fareeha explained before sighing. "Angela is going to have a long night ahead of her."

"Aw damn." Jesse cursed. "And Ang was real excited about comin' here. She told me she'd been begging to come to this place fer weeks."  
"But she is a doctor," Hanzo spoke up for the first time in entire dinner. "her patients matter more than a simple dinner party."  
"Aw Hanzo, you admiring Ang?" Jesse teased.  
"Most certainly not!" Hanzo replied, before he reached for the sake bottle. Without even looking at him, Jesse grabbed his hand and pulled it back.  
"Nuh-uh Darlin', as much as I like ya' gettin' all handsy when yer drunk off yer rocker, we got a trip up the coast tomorrow, and I don't think you'll like being real hung over on the drive up."

Lúcio and Lena both began snorting while trying to hold back their laughter. Hanzo looked mad. "I will not become one drunk on drinking one simple glass of sake, Jesse." he practically snarled.  
Jesse got serious, which had startled Lúcio, who had previously though that the guy could never be serious even if he tried. "You and I both know that one will quickly turn to several. Just try to stay sober, Hanzo."  
Lena sat forward in her seat. "Hey Jesse?"  
"What is it, short stuff?" Jesse replied, snickering when Lena shot him a dirty look.  
"How'd you and Hanzo even meet?" she questioned. "You both are complete opposites, sometimes I'm surprised you even get along. How'd you meet then?"

Hanzo looked mortified at the question, Jesse looked pleased. But before Jesse could open his mouth to reply, Hanzo had his hand clamped on it. "Some things in this life must be kept a secret." he said sharply. In response, Fareeha leaned over to Lúcio and whispered, _"That's code for it was suppose to be a one night stand but one of us, definitely Jesse, got feelings for the other, definitely Hanzo. And I'm still not sure how to come to terms with this fact."_

Lena overheard that and started laughing, leading to Lúcio laughing as well. Fareeha snickered as she stared across at Hanzo, who was glaring daggers. "Either way, glad to see you finally found someone to put up with you, Jesse." she said. Jesse, still having Hanzo's hand clutched onto his mouth to keep him from speaking, only tipped his hat in response.

  
  
To everyone's surprise, Genji was back minutes later, sitting down into his old seat beside his brother. "Sorry about that, got a bit held up. Angela made it to work though." he said, looking nervous. Fareeha adjusted her posture in her seat before raising an eyebrow at him. "Something happen?"  
"Huh?" Genji looked up at her before shaking his head. "No, no. Everything was fine, but Lúcio's neighbor, that chick living in my old apartment? She was there in the waiting room and looked really nervous. Like she'd seen a ghost."  
Lúcio looked up upon hearing that. "Why would Satya even be at the hospital? I've never even seen her talking with anyone and she works from home. Least that's what she told me." he interjected.  
"I wouldn't know. I left before I could even bother to ask." Genji replied. "Eh, forget I said anything. This is our party and we need to focus on some good for once."

 

Lúcio nodded, but in the back of his head worried about why Satya would even be at the hospital this late at night?

Strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a whole bunch of ideas for this series, ended up planning up to chapter 7 actually.  
> Next chapter will be from my girl, Symmetra's POV and reveal a secondary main pair to this story.
> 
> Don't worry, no one dies.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Satya only wanted peace, and she can't even have that.

She'd seen that annoying man, Lúcio leaving with his just as annoying friends. Finally able to have even a sliver of peace for once. Though it had been strangely quiet from upstairs all night.  
She needed peace, so when she was sure that the car was gone, she set off for the beach. Mediate for a few minutes to calm her nerves before heading back home to finish working on some sketches for her portfolio.  
She'd been stressed for days now ever since she had hit a wall in her usual creative talent. She honestly felt like shit at this point. She didn't exactly have many other talents, and she wasn't exactly a people pleaser. There were times when she'd even have to fight herself to keep eye contact with people when speaking with them.  
Nonetheless, she had brought her sketchbook along in case she had any spur of the moment ideas. Not betting on much.

  
She perched on a large flat rock and began to calm her nerves when she heard splashing. Whatever it was, it wasn't a tiny fish of any kind.

She risked a glance over the side of the rock towards the deep water, blinking in confusion.  
The waters stilled, minus the sounds of the waves and the occasional call of some kind of waterfowl. Satya was shifting back into a sitting position when she felt something lightly tap at her side. She whipped towards the source finding nothing.

"G'day, mate." she heard from the original spot she had looked towards.

 

Turning, she was shocked to see a man was leaning on the edge of the rock she'd previously been leaning over. He had mangled and soaking blond hair and was staring at her with brown eyes that just screamed bad news. "Well well, aren't you a pretty little thing?"  
Ignoring any other noticeable features, Satya stood up with her things in hand and started to walk back towards the way she had come. Instead of climbing out the water, he was swimming as close to her as he possibly could. "Did I say something wrong? Ain't exactly used to talking to pretty things such as yourself." he rambled. "They call me Junkrat, ain't got no idea what a rat is though."  
"You're annoying me, leave." was all Satya said in return.  
"Aw you're no fu-" He was cut off when there was a loud splash. Satya paused before looking over to see that he had disappeared. What... how had he...?

Her eyes went wide as the color red surfaced from below the waves. No, oh god no. He resurfaced without, clutching at the place where his right arm had been as it was now severed to the elbow. "You damned overgrown sardine!" he hissed. Satya was surprised to now notice that he was covered in splatters of green scales across his shoulders and arms. Nor the the fact that it appeared that he was now covered in spikes. She couldn't access anymore before he was pulled back under by some unseen force.

  
The trail of red seemed to be heading for the beach before he resurfaced in the shallow waters, seemingly having a lot of trouble with moving.  
Satya didn't know what had compelled her to drop her things and run into the shallows, but she did it nonetheless. Looping her arms under his arms, his back against her chest as she struggled to haul him out of the waters. "Oh bugger! The cunt is coming back!" was all the warning she got before hearing the sound of metal crunching.

  
Her left arm, her covered prosthetic had been under the waters and whatever had attacked him had now chosen to attack her. But before she could react, this Junkrat man slammed his left fist into the water at the attacker. This allowed her to beach him, quite literally as she could now see he had a tail for his lower half. Or what was left of it, seeing as the left side was nearly serrated down to the bone.  
He was obviously in a lot of pain, as she hauled him far out of the water's reach.

"Stay here, I'll get help." Satya said before rushing back to her belongings before digging out her phone. She quickly dialed the emergency number, putting the phone to her ear as it was ringing.

"Hello you've reached the emergency service number, what seems to be the problem?" came the voice of a calm older seeming woman.

"Hello? There's a severely wounded man that needs medical assistance." Satya said into the phone. The woman on the other end gave a low breath before continuing,

"Ma'am, please calm down. Now, where is your location?"

"Uhm..." Satya had to calm herself before she started hyperventilating due to the whole situation. "At the North-Western beach just off Main and Third Street?"  
There was tapping in the background before the woman continued, "What are the extent of his injuries?"  
Satya looked back, only to freeze after seeing the fin was gone and replaced with legs, or rather one leg as the other was in the same condition as his arm. Least that would make it far easier to explain. She turned away. "His right arm has been severed at the elbow and his left leg has been severed just above the kneecap. I believe it was a... shark attack."

 

Satya ended up staying on the line with the operator while she had torn parts of her clothing to act as makeshift tourniquet until paramedics could arrive. She also had to use the blanket she'd originally brought to mediate on to cover him as he wasn't exactly clothed.  
Whoever or whatever he was, he was out of it but kept mumbling under his breath as he laid unconscious. Satya could barely pick out the words that sounded like, _"Hana."_ and _"Run"_ and _"Don't let her catch you."_

Paramedics arrived in time, she went with them to the ride to the hospital. Answering the questions as quick as she could. She had lied that he was a friend of hers whom she hadn't expected to find like that. She'd also made up a name on the spot for him, Jamison.

 

But she sat there in the waiting room, trying to wrap her mind around everything that had happened. What had happened, what that man really was, but most importantly, what had even attacked him.  
Her eyes drifted down to her own prosthetic arm, to the deep bite mark in the metal.

  
It was human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Symmetra's minor parts in the story actually stem from myself. As I headcanon (possibly is canon) her to have the same autism as myself.  
> As for Junkrat's relationship to Hana and what had even attacked him?
> 
> All will be explained in the next chapter.
> 
> Also greetings to anyone who was brought here from the ao3-McHanzo account, I was happy to see it show up there. Not to worry, there will be more McHanzo later on. This is focusing solely on my two favorite rare pairs (and my ot3 in the background)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does this Junkrat man know Hana? Well...

Hana blinked holding the glasses up to her face as she peered through the darkened shades. Humans were so strange, but these had such a nice color to them. She remembered how humans wore these before placing them like they did, resting in their hair with the ends tucked behind their ears.

  
"Oi what'cha got there?" came another voice from behind her. She gave a sharp hiss, ducking away from the reaching hand. The one who had been reaching for the glasses was a blond with brown eyes and splotches of green scales. "Aw c'mon Hana. Don't go and be a ole spoilsport." he says.  
"No!" she growled sharply, clutching the glasses to her head. "It's mine, Junkrat!" The man, Junkrat, groaned.  
"Well someone is being a lil brat today." he said, swimming closer to her but not touching the glasses. "If we hadn't lost Mako, I don't think you'd be acting like this if he was still around."  
He mentally punches himself when he sees Hana's face grows sad. "Do you think he's... alright?" she asks.

  
"The bloke's a giant shark, he can handle himself. I'll bet my right stingers that he probably took care of that damned Hunter too." Junkrat said, before puffing his chest out. "Not to worry, sheila, if the Hunter did come back for more, I'll jam me ole stingers right into her eyes. Bet she'll really like that one, ah?" Hana stared at him worried. "Ah come on I was tryin' to be all funny like."

 

Pufferfish Mercreatures were a rarity in itself. Once common, they were usually Hunter-Gatherers and stayed far away from other creatures. It was their hunting abilities, using their own stringers to hunt, that made them sought after as soldiers. Before they started to refuse to obey the stronger ones.  
Now the race was practically being hunted to extinction by other creatures, specifically the Tiger Sharks and certain Eels which were immune to the poisons from the stingers.

The Hunters, they were called.

First they were wanted alive, but the stingers are still good if the Puffer themselves is already dead.

 

 

Junkrat had been the illusive kinds of Puffer, a salavager if you will. And although he had hated the mere idea, he had abandoned many decent wrecks at the very mention of a Hunter in the nearby area. He was evasive because he learned early on to keep running from the Hunters.  
It had been went searching a deep enough wreck that he had met Mako, a very large Shark mercreature. And although the big guy scared him, he scared off the Hunters just as easily. So the two had formed an alliance and a deal.

  
Junkrat would survey wrecks for anything of use, in return, Mako would provide the smaller one with protection from the Hunters. It was a fair deal and it worked for them.  
Until one day, they found Hana. Another Puffer who was being hunted by the most fearsome and infamous Hunter at that. One Junkrat had barely managed to escape from in the past.

A Tiger Shark Hunter, unknown how many Puffers she's killed but their poison had turned her skin blue. She was unrelentling, never giving the trio time to rest.  
Even gave Mako a hard time at that.

It had been Mako's choice to distract her while Junkrat and Hana fled as fast as their fins could take them. He didn't know how long it had been but they finally found this place, the populated lands. Hunters never went anywhere near here. The humans were always a bit trigger happy.  
It was a perfect place to rest and wait for Mako.

  
So it was just him and Hana, two Puffers alone. And don't be getting any strange ideas, Junkrat considered her the closest thing he had to a sister. Puffers don't exactly have large families for long anymore.

 

It had been the night time when Junkrat was drawn to a human relaxing this late at the beach. Real pretty looking one too. But as he was trying to talk to her, he did what Puffers are never allowed to do.  
He went out in open water and suffered for it.

The Hunter attacked him, fatally wounding him. He couldn't escape even if he tried. But oh did he try, he wasn't going to go down without a fight. Choosing to instead attempt to beach himself rather than swim out and draw more Hunters to the area and risk Hana's own safety.  
In the process, he had lost his arm and the left side of his fins. That would've been the end of him, at least he thought until he felt someone wrap their arms under his and pull him from the waters, being bitten in the progress.

  
But using what strength he had left, he finally punched that Hunter right in the face.

 

Hana was left alone out there now. with a damned Hunter in the very same waters. As his sight started to fade to black, he hoped she'd be okay.

She was a tough one, she could... handle... herself.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for rest for both of them.

After a night out to eat and hearing of some good changes coming for him, Lúcio returned home. He waved Genji, Lena, and Fareeha good-bye as the car faded off into the night. His eyes trailed to the lights in Satya's apartment. All off. It was rather strange.  
He shrugged, turning towards the doors to the building when something in his mind told him to stop. He froze, his gaze shifting towards the beach. Lúcio blinked in confusion, he didn't know why, but something just felt really, really bad. Pocketing his keys, he broke into a run towards the beach. That was where he felt something bad was about to happen.

He stopped, scanning the beach and the nearby waters when he noticed something lying in the sand. Making his way over, he recognized it. This was Satya's sketchbook, he'd seen her drawing in this before. But why would she just-?

 

His thoughts were cut off when he heard a screech from out in the waters. He jumped to his feet, seeing the small form of Hana backing away from a waving arm a few paces in front of her. Which wasn't worrying that is, until Lúcio saw that it was severed to where the elbow would be and it looked as though something else were grasping it.  
The arm was dropped away and Hana screamed again before she was pulled under the water.

Lúcio didn't know what he was doing, discarding his dark tank top and shoes before he dove into the water after Hana. He could see her in the sandy shallows as something was lurking just out of his line of sight. Almost as though it were stalking Hana.  
Then it came into view, the silent predator.  
It was a woman, or at least looked like one. Her skin was blue and looked lifeless, yellow eyes trained on Hana, long dark hair flowing free in the waters. Unlike Hana, her tail was sleek and gray, almost looking like a shark's tail.  
"One down... one to go..." the predator hissed before lunging at Hana. Lúcio kicked his pace in the waters, managing to kick loose sand into the predator's eyes before he grabbed a hold of Hana and retreated back to the surface. Why he did that, he didn't know. But that had to have pissed off the predator.  
Because as Lúcio struggled back onto the beach with a scared Hana now in his arms, the predator was peering over the waves, watching the two. With those gleaming yellow eyes.  
She was glaring at Lúcio before ducking below the waters with a splash.

This wasn't good, he thought as he looked down to Hana. She was still staring out at the waters with terrified eyes. "She... she won't come back. The Hunters don't like killing humans, it draws too much attention to them." Hana said, clinging tightly to Lúcio as she spoke.

 

Lúcio sighed, setting Hana down on rock far from the waters edge. He retrieved his sneakers before putting his tank top onto Hana. Luckily, it was long enough so that it fell down to her hips. "Alright, I can't just leave ya' out here. So I'll bring ya' back to my place and we'll think of something then, alright?" she nodded. "Just, don't like spike me alright?"  
"It's only for defense." she says, as Lúcio lifts her up into his arms. Leaning down to tuck Satya's sketchbook under his arm before making his way back home. Hana keeps staring back at the ocean before she turns away finally.

 

After somehow getting the door to his apartment open, Lúcio was seriously thanking himself for leaving the lights on when he had left earlier. Tripping in the dark with someone who can sprout spikes from their skin is not how he wanted to end this night. He tossed Satya's sketchbook on a nearby surface before carefully setting down Hana onto his couch. "Alright," he said as he rose back to his feet. "I just need to go drop my neighbor's sketchbook off, so please stay here. I'll be right back."

Lúcio left out the front door as Hana sat back into the seat. It felt strange to her, but nonetheless was enjoyable. Her eyes drifted down to her arms as they began to tingle and the spots began to fade away. She gave a sigh now, knowing full well what was happening.

 

Lúcio returned moments later, approaching the couch where Hana was sitting when he stopped. Why he had stopped? Well it was mainly the fact that Hana now had legs. Along with the fact that her spots were all gone, minus the three splotches on either cheek, which now appeared to be pink instead of purple. They could almost pass as facepaint.  
"Uhm...." he trailed off, a little put off about this now. Hana stared down at her newfound legs before looking up to Lúcio. "We can hide on land if we so please, but we need to have some contact with water. I've done it before with Junkrat and Mako."  
"Junkrat? Mako?"  
"My... friends. They found me when that Hunter was chasing me. Took me with them. Mako is a a Shark Mer and Junkrat is... was a Puffer, like me."  
"Was?" Lúcio repeated, dropped to a crouch beside the couch. "That Hunter... she... she attacked him. She was waving his arm at me to taunt me." Hana started shaking.  
"Hey hey, there's no need to cry. I'm here alright? I mean we just met but it doesn't mean I won't help you." Lúcio says, gently patting her shoulder. He stood back to his feet, scratching at the back of his head.  
"Okay, you can have my bed and I guess I can take the couch." Lúcio says as he holds his hands out to Hana. "You can walk right?"  
Hana hesitated. "It's... been a while since I tried." she said, gasping as Lúcio gently took her hands in his and pulled her up onto her feet. "Let's try then." he gave her a small smile before carefully walking her to his room.

"Sorry if it's not exactly what your used to." he said as Hana, now steady on her feet approached the side of the bed. She pushed her hand down onto it, flinching as it moved back. "Water?" she asked, confused.  
"Oh yeah, I had a spinal injury when I was younger, can't handle springs of actual beds. Plus water beds are really comfortable. Just don't jump on it, I don't think my neighbor will appreciate the water damage." Lúcio explained with a laugh. "Sleep tight, Hana."

"Lúcio." he stopped midstep upon hearing his name before turning back to Hana. "You don't need me to explain the whole story?" Lúcio shook his head. "Not right now. It's late to worry about that, too many things happened to you today. Just get some rest and you can tell me the full story tomorrow." he explained before nodding his head gently. "And not to worry, I won't tell anyone about you, unless you say I can, alright?"

  
Hana settles back into the bed with a nod of her head, the water a welcome feeling to her bones. Lúcio smiles, before turning off the lights, plunging the room in darkness. Besides the dim lights from the streetlamps outside of the curtained windows.

"Sleep well, Hana." Lúcio called before he went back to the living area.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up guys, hope you're enjoying this series. Apologies if this feels rushed.


	8. Chapter 8

"Lúcio?" came a soft call, trying to rouse him from his sleep. "Lúcioooooo." Now someone is shaking him. Trying to wake him up. He pulled the blanket over his head.  
"Five more minutes." he groans out.  
"No more minutes, get up!" Hana yells, managing to yank the blankets off of him. He groans sitting up, wait why is he in his bed? He knows for a fact that he took the couch last night. But before he can even dwell on it anymore, Hana continues, "There's a lady at the door asking for you. And she looks very mad."  
Lúcio looks up at her, now wide awake upon hearing her words, but not only that. The fact Hana is still wearing only his tank top and it doesn't exactly leave much to the imagination. Lúcio is up in a flash, pulling on one of his old shirts before making his way out towards the door.

And just his luck, who does he see standing there at his open door, but his downstairs neighbor, Satya. And because Hana had opened the door, he can tell she's thinking something about him.  
He needs to defuse the situation he thinks as he approaches the door. "Hey Satya. How's it going?" he greets. She looks down at him, damn she is very tall.  
"You brought my sketchbook..." she said trailing off.  
"Uh yeah, I decided to go to the beach late night again and I found it. Don't worry I didn't mess with any drawings or look in it." he says. Satya's eyes trail behind him. He turns to see Hana peering around the corner as though she is listening to the conversation.  
"Who is she?" Satya asks, obviously looking towards Hana.  
"Oh, Hana? Just an old friend of mine. Found her at the beach and since she's kinda got a real bad family situation going on, she's gonna be staying with me for a while." Lúcio lies before looking back to Hana. "Right Hana?"  
Hana jumps as he looks back at her before nodding silently.  
"Well, thank you for bringing my sketchbook back." Satya says quickly before turning and leaving. Lúcio blinks, very confused before he shut the door and locked it. "Well that was a fun conversation." he mumbled before looking at Hana. "Why was I in my bed?"

Hana shifts in her posture. "You got up in the night, went into a room, I heard a strange noise and the sound of water, then you stumbled into where I was sleeping, got under the blanket and went to sleep." she explained. "You hugged onto me a few times."  
Lúcio covered his face with his hand. "I am so sorry about that Hana, I am prone to sleep walking in a sense." he said quickly. "Alright, I'll make some food for you, what wouldja like?" Hana stood there, unsure of what to say. "Do you have any fish? It doesn't need to be cooked, Puffers usually like their meals fresh."  
"Uh... let me check. I'm not exactly rolling in money right now." Lúcio said as he paced into the small kitchen unit, Hana stopping at the counter as he looked through the fridge. "Hm... I got some Salmon, but I'm gonna have to cook it cause it's kinda frozen. That alright?"  
Hana nodded as she turned and paced back to the bedroom area while Lúcio set to work with cooking the salmon. If he wasn't as into music and the occasional peaceful protest, he'd definitely love to be a chef. But he cooked for his own enjoyment, and would probably quickly lose his interest if he had to get paid for it. So he made two Salmon cutlets, one with some spices for him as an early lunch and the other without for Hana.

  
"Hey Hana, food's ready!" he called over his shoulder as he set the plates on the counter near the bar stools. Sure he had a table but he thought that this would be easier to manage.  
Hana returned from his room, having found an old pair of his pajamas pants with frogs on them. Lúcio paused, not expecting she knew how to wear pants but she seemed to read his thoughts. "When we'd hide out on land, we'd need to wear clothes as to not draw attention to ourselves. It's a strange feeling to go back to but we know what is acceptable and what isn't." she said as she made her way over to the plate and sat down.

  
Lúcio was amazed that she did in fact know a lot of land customs, mermaids were far more intelligent than Disney and the old Fairy tales made them out to be.  
Hana explained to him the full story of Puffers as they were called. Being practically hunted to extinction because they refused to listen to the bigger mercreatures. Hana had lost her birth family to Hunters back in Korean waters, it was there she took the name Song as she'd seen a human celebrity on a billboard with it as their last name. She'd never even seen another Puffer in her life until she met up with Junkrat, who became a brother figure to her, and Mako, who was a massive Shark Mer. Junkrat had even given her the name Hana in the first place. Said she always looked more like a Hana than a Song.

"Song is a Korean name, and your accent is Korean, so we'll call you Hana Song for anyone else alright?" Lúcio spoke, Hana agreed to the notion as she'd always liked the name.  
Hana explained the attack on Mako by the Hunter, forcing her and Junkrat to flee for their lives. She wasn't even sure if Mako was even still alive, Junkrat seemed so sure but she had wondered if he was only acting so sure of himself because he hadn't meant to worry her. Then the Hunter came back and took Junkrat's arm. There was no way he could've survived that in the ocean and thus Hana was alone again.

Lúcio gave her a heartfelt smile touching her shoulder. "Hey, it'll be alright. You won't be alone again cause you got me, and I got a bunch of friends who can help you out too. You just gotta trust me alright?"  
Hana sighs. "I'm not sure..." she trails off.  
"Okay how about we'll try one. Lena is her name, I was thinking of giving her a call cause I think she might have some old clothes so you aren't wearing mine all the time." Lúcio started. "We'll try with her just to test the waters for you, and if you don't like the idea of meeting everyone else, it can stay a secret between us. I won't try to push it if you aren't comfortable."  
Hana paused before nodding. "Okay, I can agree to that then."

 

Lúcio went searching for his phone before he texted Lena.

[Hey Lena, you free right now?]

[[sure thing luv! dont need to head into work til 6]]  
[[y do you ask?]]

[Got a friend who's having some family issues. She had to leave her home rather suddenly, her old clothes got pretty ruined. Think you can bring some of your old clothes by?]

[[aw the poor thing, getting kicked out by ur own family is pretty tough, I speak from experience here.]]  
Lúcio felt bad, he knew Lena was into women but he didn't realize it was that bad that her family had up and kicked her out. She was always all smiles, you would never have guessed that...  
He needed to remember that not everyone was as accepting of others lifestyles as he was. And boy did he hate people like that with a passion as strong as his musical passion.

[I think she really needs more friends, so if you can come by today to meet her. That'd be great.]

[[not to worry! The Calvary's coming!]]

 

Lúcio showed the messages to Hana, whom was sitting on the couch beside him. Before he showed a picture of Lena that he used for her icon in his phone.  
It had been at a nightclub one of the first times he'd first even met Lena, Angela had introduced him to her. In the picture she was wearing orange glow in the dark glasses and had a purple glowstick in between her teeth as she posed for the picture. "She seems nice." Hana said as she handed him back the phone.  
"Yeah, Lena's a nice girl."  
"She your girlfriend?" Hana asked.  
"Uh?! No, no no Lena is not my girlfriend. Lena's more interested in women to be honest." Lúcio said, rubbing the back of his head.  
"Oh." Hana replied, shifting back into the couch. "Fair enough."

 

Now he has a newfound roomie, well thing's can't get any stranger than this, right?  
Oh Lúcio, that's the last phrase to think of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record in this story, Lena is Homosexual while Lúcio is Pansexual, everyone else can be explained if anyone is curious.


	9. Chapter 9

This isn't how Lúcio wanted this to turn out. But it is how it had in the end. And nothing could've expected him to see it end up this way of all things.

 

It had been a good day, Hana seemed so interested in the beat up television he owned, while Lúcio made himself decent for when Lena showed up. Showering, changing into fresh clothes, Hana hadn't even noticed he was finally done until he sat down beside her with a cup of some mountain dew. "What's that?" she asked, looking at the clear glass in his hand.  
"Huh? Oh just some mountain dew, it's a drink humans can drink." Lúcio explained. "Wanna try some?" Hana carefully took the glass from his hand and took a sip. Before she made a sour face. "Gross. How can humans enjoy this of all things?"  
"It's an acquired taste." he replied, shrugging his shoulders as he did.  
"Acquired from what? A lack of taste?" Hana retorted. Lúcio chuckled as he sipped his drink. Hana pouted at him for the time being. At least she didn't spit out the drink, there was always that.

It was a loud commotion from the hall that peaked his interest, before hearing the loud knock at the door. Lúcio was on his feet in seconds. "Coming!" he called as he made his way towards the door. Hana peeked her head up from over the sofa as he opened the door.

Standing there outside of the door was Lena, with a large box full of clothes on hand. "Cheers luvs, I brought some clothes!" she greeted as she set the box down, before kicking it into the room. Lúcio shut the door behind her while Lena took off her shoes and jacket before stretching.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice, Lena." Lúcio said as he scratched at the back of his head.

"No problem, always glad to help." Lena replies before her brown eyes trailed over to the curious Hana. Lena smiles, giving her a two fingered salute. "Heya!" Hana rose to her feet as she approached Lena, albeit obviously very hesitant. "Name's Lena Oxton, what's yours luv?"

"Hana... Song." Hana replied before Lena gave her a big smile.

"There's no need to be shy, I don't bite. Least I don't think I do." Lena chuckles, Hana chuckles lightly as well. Lena isn't exactly the most threatening person in the world. Lena looks down at Hana's choice in clothing. "Cute, but we should be able to find something you like in your size. Lúcio, I'm gonna have to steal your room, luv."

"That's fine." Lúcio replied, sitting down while Lena retrieved the box of clothing and corralled Hana towards his room. He sat down on the couch while the girls got acquainted with each other. His thoughts drifted back to when he had first met everyone.

 

He'd first met Genji when he'd moved into this apartment building three years before. The two instantly became close friends following that.

Angela and Fareeha followed up later on, when the two had come to visit Genji. The two women accepted him into the pack.

They'd introduced him to Jesse next, and then Lena barely a week after.  
Within such short notice, becoming his close friends.

 

"Tada, she's found something she likes." came Lena's voice after half an hour had passed. Lúcio looked up to see that Hana was tugging at the bottom of a light pink sweatshirt with short sleeves, she was wearing baggy jeans and Lena had even taken the liberty of tying her hair back. "I've left the rest of the clothes so she can at least have a wardrobe of her own. And... Lúcio?"  
"Yeah Lena?"  
"I might've let it slip to Genji about your new friend, and he felt real bad for her so he, Angela, and Fareeha are gonna be showing up and give her a welcome party. I just need to ask if this is alright?" she questioned. He paused and looked to Hana, unsure of what to even say. Hana looked to Lena and nodded her head. "I'd be happy to meet them."

Lena smiled, cheering as this is going on. "Oh you're gonna love 'em, luv. Oh, anyway do you got any food preferences?"  
"Fish please?"  
"On it, Genji and Fareeha love their fish actually, any suggestions as to what you'd like?"  
"The same as them?" Hana replies with a confused tone.  
"Gotcha." Lena turns to text on her phone, possibly at Angela or Genji. Hana settled back down beside Lúcio before leaning into his side.

 

There was small chitchat between the three. Lena seemed to be bringing Hana out of her shell over time, until Lena had Hana's full attention. Lúcio chuckled as Lena told a really funny joke and how Hana had laughed so loudly that she ended up snorting. Kicking her feet as she laughed.

Then there was the knocks at the door, to which Lúcio was back on his feet. At the door, as expected, were the three. All armed with various food and drinks. "Heya guys, long time no see." Lúcio greeted as a joke. After all, he'd only seen the three the night before.  
Genji lightly punched him in the side as he made his way into the apartment. Setting the bags down. Angela gave Lúcio a side hug before she moved into the kitchen unit to set down the supplies. "I'm so glad to be off of work. Let's just try to enjoy ourselves. This night is for that friend of yours-- Fareeha?" Angela paused upon noticing how the younger woman seemed to be towering over the far smaller Hana with judging eyes.  
This drew everyone's attentions as well.

Hana's eyes were wide as she stared up at the muscular Egyptian woman standing over her. Before Lúcio heard Hana finally speak out. "A... a Barracuda Mer?" Hana gasped as she stared up at Fareeha.  
"Wait," Genji approached the two. "Fareeha what's going on?"  
She looked towards Genji. "She's another Mer. I knew I had strange feeling about the whole situation." she replied. "I didn't think it'd be Lúcio of all people to learn of this."  
Lúcio himself straightened himself up. "Wait, Fareeha. You're a Mermaid too?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "In a sense, I'm no little mermaid of course."

 

So this is where Lúcio was now, seated with Hana beside him, while Genji, Angela, Lena, and Fareeha pulled up their own seats to explain.  
"You see, I am a Mer. I'm a Barracuda, I can live in most places as a result. This is the longest I've stayed in one place. The first place I could finally call my permanent home." Fareeha explained. "Before you ask, yes Jesse knows of this. But no, he's not a Mer himself."  
"But you once said that McCree was practically raised by your Mother." Lúcio argued.  
"And that was the truth. Remember when Jesse was telling the story of that gang he ran with years ago?" Lúcio nodded. "Well, plain and simple. They tried to kill him. Ran him off the road near a deep river to make it look like an accident. Course my Mother and I had been in that river and saved his life. That night, he learned that our kind exist. A year later, he befriended Angela, whom he introduced to me." Upon this, she affectionately took one of Angela's hands in hers.

"So, those troubles with your Mother are because...?"

"Because I chose to live on land." Fareeha replied, before grasping at Genji's hand. "And because I chose to be with two people and have no children of my own. Children are fairly important in my species' family units. But, I am about as motherly as Jesse is heterosexual." Upon that Genji spit out his drink and started cracking up. _"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU JUST SAID THAT!"_ he yelled, wiggling in his seat as he laughed his ass off.

"So... what are you then, Hana?" Lena questioned, startling the girl as she hadn't expected anyone to talk to her. Not only had her cover been blown, as Fareeha's had as well.  
"I'm a..." she bowed her head. "a Puffer."  
"A Puffer?!" Fareeha gasped, leaning forward in her seat. "Oh shit, I hadn't expected you to be that. No wonder why you were so terrified when I had showed up."

"Puffer?" Angela repeated. "What's a Puffer?"

"You know? Like a Pufferfish, except human." Fareeha explained. "They are sought after real bad. I remember a particularly aggressive shark mer took my Mother's eye when she didn't believe that my Mother wasn't harboring a Puffer in secret."  
Lúcio nodded. "Hana was attacked by a... Hunter is what she says they call them. She says that it is the same one just killed her friend, who I guess was like a brother to her." he explained. "I couldn't just leave her there. So, I brought her back here last night."

"Damn." Fareeha cursed. "A Hunter in the waters looking for a stolen kill. That's not good."  
"It gets worse, that patient I was called in last night to help? Their friend claimed that it was a shark attack." Angela says. "I spoke with the friend, she didn't say much besides that."

Hana perked up upon hearing this. "Hunters don't attack humans!" she yelled. "They don't! It draws far too much attention to them!"  
Fareeha shifted back into her seat. "Well this Hunter has fucked up big time. I'll put out a warning to have swimmers use caution and I'll be sure to keep an eye out."  
"I'm confused?" Hana says. "How do you have so much power over humans and the waters?"

"I'm the Harbourmaster of one of largest docks in the nearby area. If I warn someone of sharks in the nearby waters, they'll listen to me and spread the word." Fareeha said. "I keep the peace."  
"Don't worry, love!" Lena spoke towards Hana. "If this nasty old Hunter bloke comes a looking for you, I'll punch them right in their face."  
Hana laughed as Lena made punching motions. Then Genji swooped in and began tickling her.

 

He noticed how Hana seemed more relaxed now, despite the previously tense situation. How she seemed to now realize that she was among friendly people, who would help her be and feel safe. And Lúcio couldn't thank them enough, no matter if they were even human or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the big secret is out, don't think anyone would guess that it'd be Pharah of all people to be a Mer.
> 
> For their sexualities;
> 
> Fareeha, Genji, and Angela are all Bisexual and Polyamorous.  
> Lena and McCree are Homosexual.  
> Lúcio, as stated before, is Pansexual.  
> Hanzo is possibly Homosexual or Bisexual, he's still trying to figure himself out and McCree respects that.
> 
> Everyone else is, no one is sure.
> 
> Course with Fareeha, Ana isn't actually like that. She's just trying to protect her daughter.  
> But anyways, until next time guys.


	10. Chapter 10

It had been nearly three months since Hana's arrival on land and Fareeha's own revelation, by that point, McCree and Hanzo had both returned from their trip up the coast. Which after explaining that Lúcio now knew the truth, McCree admitted that he had taken Hanzo to meet Fareeha's Mother, Ana. McCree kept in contact with Ana while her daughter did not.  
Lúcio gained a new DJing job, all thanks in part to Genji and his vast connections. Hana was helping him move equipment every now and again, along with remaining friends with Lúcio's group. Mainly that of Lena.

Fareeha kept her word, and her eyes on the waters. But while there had been sightings of a supposed shark, no one had been attacked. It did not halt her watchful gaze nonetheless.

 

On this day, Lúcio and Hana were having lunch with Lena, they were picking her up from work and heading off to get something to eat. Hana was easy to please, loved fish and was generally a pretty healthy eater. Which was good for Lúcio's pocket as he already had a sweet tooth.  
"Sorry luvs!" Lena called once she noticed them. "Gotta get one of my crankier patients up, he still is getting used to having prosthetics after all."  
When Lena disappeared from sight, Lúcio noticed Hana staring at the area around. "This is a hospital, it's for when humans get really sick and need to recover." he explained to her. "Human babies can be born here too."  
Hana's eyes perked up when he said this. "Well not in this area, Hana. This is Patient Rehabilitation, babies would be near the Maternity Ward as my best guess." Lúcio explained.

"Oh, I... I did not think I'd run into you here." came a voice from behind the two. Startled, both turn in unison to see Satya standing behind the pair, armed with an equal expression of surprise on her narrow features. She was wearing a simple flowing top in a nice shade of blue, a pair of pristine gray jeans, and low heels. Armed with a purse, no doubt containing her sketchpad and various things.  
Lúcio gave her a welcoming smile, as she hadn't been on his case at all for the past three months, ever since back when Hana had first answered the door. "Hey Satya, just pickin' up our friend, Lena for some lunch. She works here ya' know?"  
"Oh?" Satya gasped out   
"Yeah, she and our other friend, Angela both work in this hospital actually." Lúcio replied. "So why're you here, Satya?"  
"I uhm..." Satya trailed off for a second before coughing to get her composure back. "I have a friend recovering here. He got hurt several months back, i take it that you heard about the shark attack?"  
Lúcio blinks, noticing Hana tense out of the corner of his eye. _"HEY GET BACK IN BED!"_ Lena yells from a room she had ducked into. There was the sound of fast, hobbling footsteps before someone crashed right into Hana, thus toppling the two over to the floor. "Hana!" Lúcio gasped, leaning down to pull her out from under the unruly patient.

The patient in question, was a thin lanky man with messy blond hair and wild brown eyes, he wore prosthetics where his right arm and left leg would be. He jerked his head up towards Lúcio but in doing so, got a good look at Hana. The latter whom gasped when she saw him, covering her mouth with her hands. The man stared at Hana, almost equally surprised, before clutching her close to him in a tight hug. "Hana, I thought I'd never see you again." Lúcio heard him say.  
"J-Junkrat?" Hana gasped out through her tears. Lena came into view, pausing upon seeing the man hugging Hana. She looked up towards Lúcio before motioning them to gather in the room the man previously had been attempting to escape from.

 

Satya was now seated in a chair beside the hospital bed, which looked as though she was a common fixture in this room. While Lena sat the lanky man on the bed and grabbed two spare chairs for both Lúcio and Hana, Lena took a spot leaning on the door. "I shoulda figured there was somethin', literally, fishy bout cha when you refused to be bathed by the staff." Lena stated as she stared at the man.  
"Oi, would you wanna have stingers in your arm if I touched water?!" he snapped, Satya winced back at his bark before making a rhythmatic tap with her left hand, after a bit, this seemed to calm him down.  
"So... you're this Junkrat guy, the same one Hana thinks of as a brother." Lúcio spoke up.  
Junkrat nodded sharply. "That I am, Mate. Course this pretty thing over here," he pointed at Satya with his thumb. "insists on calling me Jamison, cause apparently Junkrat ain't a real name."  
"Well it's not." Satya spoke up. "Besides, I think it is a lovely name."  
"Well I don't!" Junkrat argued.  
"I like it." Hana spoke up. "I think she picked a nice name for you. I mean, you called me Hana to begin with, and maybe it was time for a change." Upon this, Junkrat softened up. "Alright fine," he groaned, rolling his eyes. "You can call me Jamison. Or Jamie, the Doc's boyfriend calls me that all the time."  
"Doc's boyfriend?" Lena then repeated before gasping, "Oh! You mean Genji. I didn't realize he visited you."

Lúcio leaned back in his seat. "Alright Jamie, I already can guess you aren't human are you?" he questioned. Jamison gave a bark of laughter.  
"Ya' got that right, Mate. Puffer here, course without water, I'm a bit short me spikes ya' know?" Jamison replied with a cocky grin, one that made Hana give a soft sigh. She never thought she'd ever see it again. "As for why I'm even still alive, you can all thank this pretty thing over here." he again pointed at Satya with his thumb, Satya whom stiffened when the attention fell on her.  
Hana blinked. "You were the shark attack victim. Hunters never attack Humans, they attack Puffers. Why didn't I see it back then?" she murmured, looking down.  
Lúcio sighed, patting her shoulder gently. Jamison's eyes narrowed, watching their interactions warily. "Hana, you were terrified out of your mind back then, you thought your friend was dead and then had to adapt to being not only on land but around a bunch of new people." he said calmly before looking towards Lena. "How long is his recovery going for?"

Lena sighed, leaning back onto her feet. "Well, for a human it would've been a few more months at best, but Angela once told me, Mers can adapt to new situations a lot easier than us Humans can. So I'll talk to her about this new information." she replied. "And sorry luvs, I'll have to cancel our lunch date, I got a lot more work to do now."  
He waved her worry away before replying, "Its fine, Lena. Hana and I will find something to eat ourselves." Before he paused, looking to the still nervous Satya, who now had a certain Jamison leaning over her shoulder to look at her phone. He seemed to have a severe lack of space. "Hey Satya, you got lunch plans?" he finally questioned.

 

  
Which now found the trio in a small local diner, Satya sitting across from Lúcio and Hana. They gave the waiter their orders; beef fajita for Lúcio, grilled chicken for Satya, and a smoked salmon wrap for Hana; and now were waiting it out.  
"So, you found out about them too, ah?" Lúcio questioned. Satya tensed, before looking down to her iced tea and swirled it gently with her straw. She gave a nod. "I saw him get attacked, and I did all I could to save his life." she explained.  
Hana gave her a tearful smile. "Junkrat is my friend and the closest thing I have to a brother. You saved him, thank you." she spoke. "You saved him from a Hunter no less. You're very brave."  
Satya jerked her head up. "On the contrary, I nearly had a panic attack several times due to the ordeal itself. I have certain... social anxiety is what most would call it. But for me, its a rather uncommon sight. It is not an easy one to be a part of the spectrum at all."  
Lúcio nodded his head in understanding. "It's fine, Satya. You don't have to apologize for yourself. I shoulda figured, you were always real meticulous when it came down to certain details. Sorry if I was being rude back then, you aren't that bad of a person." he replied. "Glad I'll have a friend now to deal with all this, its gonna get real hectic now."

Satya stopped stirring her deal, raising her amber eyes towards Lúcio in confusion. "... may I ask why?" she spoke.

Lucio leaned back in his seat before sighing. "Angela, my friend and I'm guessing Jamison's Doctor, she's in a relationship with two people. Genji, Lena mentioned him, who used to live in what is now your apartment, and Fareeha, whom apparently is a Mer herself. Don't worry they both know, hell they all live together." he chuckled lightly. "Anyways, Angela told me that Fareeha's Mom is gonna be visiting, ya' know, for the holidays and all? And she invited me and Hana here over for backup, hope you like parties cause I think she may be inviting you and Jamison too. If that's alright?"  
Satya paused looking from Lúcio to Hana and back before nodding her head. "I'm not a fan of parties myself, but I've found I seem to be the only one who can calm Jamison down so I will be attending as well then."

 

 

Hana later on after having lunch, while Lúcio is giving Satya his contact information, stared out towards the nearby ocean with blank eyes. Her fingers tighten on the metal barrier she is standing in front of.  
The Hunter is still out there, she can just feel it. Now to learn the Hunter had missed the opportunity to kill not one, but two different Puffers says a lot. Hunters never give up their prey so easily, that's something all Puffers learn.  
"I'm gonna protect them." Hana murmurs to the very waters she is watching. "I'm going to learn how to fight back, and when that Hunter comes back for us, she's gonna be in for a surprise when we fight back."

  
"Hana!" Lúcio calls, startling Hana from her thoughts. She looked over to see Lúcio waving her over. "C'mon we gotta get back to my work. Let's go."  
Hana nodded, turning away from the waters and following after Lúcio. He had long bid Satya goodbye, least it was a fresh start for them all. Hana was no longer alone, Lúcio made up with the neighbor he had previously disliked, hopefully Fareeha would make up with her Mother. Things were good.

  
But it still rose the case, a Hunter with two lost kills in one night. And if we've learned anything, she's not exactly deterred by anything stopping her original attacks.

She is still close, as close as she can be at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey what is up guys, I nearly forgot about this story. So I incorporated the time difference between this chapter's posting and last chapter's posting into this story's timeline. A lot of the friendships are already forged by this point, hopefully I can get the next chapter out too.
> 
> What do you guys say to this story gaining the WidowTracer pairing, ah? I've been considering it for a while now.  
> Let my mind come up with a plan and I'll get back to you all momentarily.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group meets Fareeha's Mother for the very first time. How will the Puffers handle with meeting another Mer?

"I still feel bad that I didn't bring a gift though, Lúcio." Hana mopes as the man in question was currently busy with tying her hair up into a neat bun with a gold colored hair tie. He shook his head. "And like I said, Hana, we don't have the money for so many gifts. And Angela said that having you present is a gift in itself. Besides, Jamie's not bringing a gift either."

"That's because Jamie's been out of the hospital for less than two weeks now and understands land customs even less than I do." Hana replied sharply. Before pausing to study her new hairstyle in the mirror. She looked back to Lúcio. "I like my hair though. Thanks."

Lúcio grinned down at her. "It's no problem, Hana. Go get your stuff ready. We're gonna meet up with Satya and Jamie out front and then Lena's gonna come pick us up." he instructed.

"Lena? But I thought Fareeha was picking us up?" she pondered aloud.

"Well, she was, but then her Mom's husband's car rental company cancelled at the very last second. I warned 'em not to go with some cheap place last second." Lúcio said as Hana pulled her boots on, an early gift from Angela.

After getting their coats on, the two trudged down the stairs to see Satya and Jamison were both already waiting for them. Jamison's sleeve was pulled up to where prosthetic met flesh, luckily the one for his leg was covered by his pant leg. It was amazing what Satya could do to keep him in order. While she kept him organized, he was still allowed to choose how he dressed.

He hobbled over to Hana, staring at her hairstyle. "Look at you, Hana. Going around lookin' all pretty. Wish Mako could be here to see ya'." he said, to which Hana's gaze fell.

"Hey hey, we're having a good day today. And you don't have to worry about the whole—" Lúcio was cut off as Satya loudly cleared her throat and craned her neck to motion towards the stairs. There were footsteps coming down the stairs, before a small woman with a massive white cat perched atop her shoulders came into sight. Her hair was a deep brunette, her eyes an even darker shade of brown, hidden behind a thick pair of glasses.

She paused upon seeing the four. "Oh, sorry! I was just coming down to get my mail." she gasped out, before moving towards the mailbox, which Jamison was currently standing in front of. Satya gave her nod, pulling Jamison out of the way so that she could do what she needed. "Yeah sorry Mei. You're so quiet that I sometimes forget you live here too." Lúcio said.

Mei-Ling Zhou lived next door to Lúcio, she’d lived here ever since back when Genji still had. Mei was a loner by choice, worked as habitat researcher or something locally. She was slightly affiliated with their group; seemed to know both Angela and Lena on a personal level, obviously knew Genji, worked with Fareeha occasionally, and had some kind of past history with Jesse McCree. She lived alone with her fluffball of white cat named Snowball.

Mei browsed through her letters for a bit before raising her head. "So, what're you all doing out here?" she asked.

"We're going to a party." Hana replied.

"I remember Angela mentioning that. Unfortunately, I told her I couldn't go." Mei's smile fell. "I've been swamped by work. And it's not like I could just leave Snowball here alone for several hours. Oh, listen to me ramble, I'll head back up to my apartment then, tell Angela I said hello."

 

As Mei stepped up the stairs before disappearing, Lúcio called out, "Will do!" Then there was the sound of a door shutting above them. "Least that's over, I don't even think Mei knows about the whole Mer thing either." Lúcio said giving a sigh of relief. "She might, but there's no use in risking it."

The four were once again silent, until Hana tapped Lúcio on the shoulder. "Lena's here." she spoke, pointing to the waving Brit in question and her obnoxiously orange colored car.

 

 

After piling into the car; with Satya taking front seat, Lúcio behind driver, Hana behind passenger, and Jamison squeezed in between the two; the group was off.

There was small chit-chat as soft music drifted from the speakers, as Lena had allowed Satya to have radio control. Before Lúcio finally perked up as they were at a red light. "Hey, Lena?"

Lena looked back at him in the rearview mirror. "Yeah? Sup Love?"

"How did... how did you find out about Mer people exactly?" he questioned, noting how Lena's smile fell and how her grasp on the steering wheel lightened.

"Shoulda guessed one of ya' would finally ask me." she said with a laugh.

 

"First things first, I was actually a longtime penpal of Angie's since I was eleven, it was for a school project actually. We got along real well so, we ended up staying in contact." Lena explained, chuckling as she did. "I was only fourteen when I first realized that I liked women, and dated two in long distance relationships that never worked out. It was my third girlfriend, first whom I ever knew in real life, she got frustrated in me still being in the closet from my family and accidentally outted me to them when I was sixteen. That relationship obviously didn't work out in the end." Lena shuddered as if remembering something that she wasn't at all fond of.

"And that's when Angie invited me to come stateside. It was when I finally met her in person when I first met Jesse and Fareeha actually. I ended up living with her, Jesse, Fareeha, Fareeha's Mom, and this nice German man, Reinhardt, who was a family friend of Angie's and later married Fareeha's Mom.

I discovered Fareeha's whole secret on complete accident. Fell off the boat and Fareeha, being the heroic person, she is, jumped in to save me. That was when I learned what both she and her Mom were."

 

 

"Wow Lena, I... I'm sorry you've had to go through so much." Lúcio said, looking down to his knees.

Lena, now driving again, waved her hand at him dismissively. "It's all in the past, Lúcio. Besides we got our party after all. Wonder what goodies Ana's brought us?"

 

 

The four reached the home where Fareeha, Angela, and Genji all lived in record time. Being greeted at the door by Angela who gave hugs and handshakes to everyone. Her blonde hair looking more frazzled than usual. "Thank god you four finally arrived, Fareeha's Mother is here and as is her husband, Reinhardt.”

“Where’s Fareeha?” Lena asked.

Angela straightened her back, “She’s picking up some things we forgot to pick up for the party. I don’t know why we never checked the tea. Ana does only drink one very specific brand.”

“Are Jesse and Hanzo here then?" the Brit questioned.

Angela shook her head. "No, but they are on their way though. Where are my manners? Please come in, get settled. And don't be afraid of Ana, she's very nice once you get to know her. Trust me, I should know."

 

Satya dusted off her blue dress once she stepped into the home, her dress glimmering like glass in the light. Her hair was tied back into a loose bun, her dark hair cascading down the back of her neck. Wearing shimmering blue diamond-shaped earrings.

Jamison, wearing a nicely made suit which was short the jacket, scratched at his chin with his solid hand as he looked around the entrance of the home. Looking a bit put off by the whole situation entirely. A bit of his hair was sticking up, quickly to be smoothed down by Satya's gentle hand.

Hana's dark hair remained nice and neat with the golden tie keeping everything secure, Lúcio sure knew how to work. She wore a dark blue dress with golden accents to match.

Lúcio on the other hand kept his thick dreadlocks tied up and out of the way. Wearing a simple teal vest, rolled white sleeve shirt, and classy pants combo.

 

Angela, wearing a light blouse and loose-fitting black pants, passed past the four. Heading into the house she shared with her partners. Angela had disappeared into what looked like a dining and kitchen area with Lena following her.

Lúcio and Hana both moved forward before the DJ bumped into someone exiting from the living room area. The large mountain of a man towered over all four of them, his beard being a striking white. He gained a smile before declaring aloud in a booming voice, "Greetings!"

"Uh.... hi." Lúcio greeted back as Hana stood beside him.

"You are friends of Angela’s, correct?" he asked.

"Uh yeah, I'm Lúcio, this is Hana, and those two back there are Satya and Jamie." he introduced.

"I am Reinhardt." he introduced, before Lúcio spotted movement behind him. There was an older woman, far smaller than Reinhardt was, standing there. Her hair a deep silver and partially hidden by a deep blue shawl. She wore a black cover over her right eye while her left was narrow. It was obvious that this was Ana Amari, Fareeha's mother.

She moved past Reinhardt before stopping in front of Hana, whom she stared silently back at before her lone eye drifted towards Jamison. "You're both Mers." Ana spoke up, "It's obvious, I can practically smell it on you."

Hana looked at the elder for a second before replying, "Jamie and I are both Puffers."

Ana didn't seem surprised and only nodded. "Yes, Fareeha told me that two humans found a Puffer pair in their area, and have been keeping them on land due to a Hunter in the nearby waters." she replied, "I'm Ana, Fareeha's Mother. Are you and Jamie siblings?"

Hana shook her head. "No, but he's like a brother to me. Puffers don't exactly have large families anymore."

“Ah yes, my apologies.” Ana said with a short nod, “You have nothing to fear, I am not a threat to either of you two. Let’s just say, I have had a bad experience with Hunters in the past. Come, we must chat. It has been a long time since I’ve been able to talk with other mers that aren’t blood-related.”

 

 

Lúcio was helping in the kitchen, trying to assist Genji and Angela, whom were both hard at work, any way he could. “Having Genji around is incredibly useful, having someone who knows how to make sushi for Mers is a useful skill.” She rattled on, “Along with being a doctor, after meeting Ana and Fareeha, I had taken to learn about how they worked. Mers tend to be much more resilient than we humans, which was key to Jamison’s recovery. I’m somewhat surprised that I hadn’t figured out what Jamison really was.”

The Brazilian set the small stack of plates down on the counter. “So… what’s Reinhardt’s story then?” he asked.

“Reinhardt is human of course, he was my guardian of sorts for years.” Angela explained while Genji was focusing on carefully rolling up the narrow fresh roll which he’d soon cut into sections. “Reinhardt and I had actually been living in the town nearby the lake where Jesse had been left for dead and where Ana and Fareeha had been living. He introduced me to them and well, one day, Reinhardt followed us to the meeting point. He thought we were doing something illegal, thought Jesse was a bad influence on me. So, he ended up finding out on complete accident.”

“But, how if it was a surprise, why are Reinhardt and Ana married then?” Lúcio questioned with a tilt of his head, he turned upon hearing Genji snort as Angela continued.

“Well… Reinhardt did always have a thing for women with long black hair who could kill him with one look.” Angela said while Genji was trying, and failing, to stifle his laughter. “I’m honestly surprised he didn’t try to propose to her right then. He didn’t even care about the tail or anything. It was all water under the bridge, pardon the pun.”

That made Genji lose it as he was full on crying in laughter. Angela shooed him away as both she and Genji had everything taken care of, so Lúcio took that to wander back to the main area where everyone was. Easily hearing Jamison’s voice as he approached the living area.

 

“—So like, Mako and me, we lived in the Salvage Heap for a long time, ya’ know. No one would mess with me when I was there, with Mako around too. They didn’t like Hunters, Hunters broke old Queenie’s order and Queenie didn’t like that at all.”

“Excuse my interruptin’, but who’s ‘Queenie’?” came Jesse’s voice. He and Hanzo had arrived an hour ago, they’d both been made full aware of everything going on with Hana and Jamison.

“Well, she likes to be called, the Queen, she’s this big Whale Shark Mer; and while she doesn’t kill, gal’s got a sharp tongue and an armada of shark mers that will for her. No one messes with Queenie, mate. Mako and I, well…. we messed with Queenie, so she kicked us out of the Salvage Heap. Kinda surprised she didn’t kill us now that I think about it. Then, we found Hana here.”

Ana sipped from a cup of tea that Angela had provided for her. “Ah yes, I had heard of the Salvage Heap, though I tried to avoid such a place. What about your friend?”

“Who? Mako?” Jamison asked, “Hana and me got separated from him when the Hunter bitch got the drop on us. We took off for our own safety…” He noticed Hana’s face drop. “… But uh— Mako’s a big shark mer, he can take care of himself. He’ll be around sooner or later, I’ll tell you that much.”

Ana’s eye drifted towards where Hana was sitting, but she didn’t say a word, only nodding her head. “I’m sure we’ll be happy to assist him when he does finally show up.”

“Hey guys, question, does Mei know about the whole Mer thing?” Lúcio asked upon noticing how the conversation had quickly turned quiet.

“Huh? Mei?” Fareeha repeated, “Well… we never thought about telling her. She knows me, Angela, Genji, Lena, and Jesse all pretty well. It just… never came up, I can only assume that she doesn’t know. I’d prefer if we keep the number of humans who know our secret low, it took a lot of urging from both Jesse and Angela to get me to tell Genji. Now Lúcio and Satya know, as well as Hanzo.”

Lúcio glanced around before spotting Hanzo and Satya sitting in two armchairs at the opposite end of the room, discussing something or other, he overheard Satya mention architect so it had to be work-related for her. Jamison sitting there on the floor near her side, not entirely sure what she was talking about but he seemed to enjoy listening to Satya ramble on and on.

Noticing how Jamison closed his eyes to listen to her voice.

 

“Reinhardt and I have been considering moving back to the area for some time.” Ana said without warning, before putting her hand up to halt Fareeha. “Before you ask, Fareeha, we want our own place. We don’t want to take up any more of your time than we need to.”

“Ah hell, Mama Amari, yer really movin’ back to the area? Is this about the Hunter?” Jesse asked, leaning forward in his seat.

“In a matter of speaking, yes, but at the same time, we can’t solely depend on Fareeha and you two to keep the Puffers alive. I figure it is the best course of action.” Ana replied, taking a sip of her tea.

“Ja, we’ve actually been looking into a rather big home with private beach front property.” Reinhardt said casually to which Lúcio nearly choked on his drink. “Are you alright, my friend?”

“Ah Man, I lost my job when I first met Hana, how the heck can you afford that?” he questioned, after coughing.

Ana gave a sly smile. “Let’s just say Reinhardt came into a bit of money when some treasure ended up in his fishing net.” She said, going back to drinking her tea. Well, at least he knew where Fareeha got her wit from.

“Hey guys? Where’s Lena?” Lúcio finally noticed, glancing around for the shorter Brit in question.

“She went out that way last I saw.” Hana pointed out, towards a door leading to the back deck. Reinhardt had been regaling her with some of his old tales, so she was distracted while Lúcio slipped away from the party.

 

Lena was leaning on the railing overlooking the sea. The trio of Fareeha, Angela, and Genji all lived by the coast for obvious reasons of course. The deck had a few lounge chairs, a table, and an unused thus far grill. “Hey Lena, y’okay?” he called out to her.

Lena breathed out smoke, having been taking a smoke break. “It’s fine, love, just feeling a bit overwhelmed by the lil gettogether is all. Reinhardt tires me out so easily, had to escape while I still had the chance.” She laughed, though he could tell it was flat, as though she were lying.

Sure, she was his friend and all, but if he knew that if she didn’t want to talk about it, it wasn’t any of his business.

“Alright Lena, you know I’m here for you, okay?” he assured her, patting her shoulder before returning inside. Once he was gone, she pressed her head onto her arm, breathing in the cold, sea breeze.

 

 

What Lúcio nor Lena hadn’t noticed was a form surface from the depths below. Black hair floating in the waters, mimicking some sort of monster. Deep yellow eyes watching the pair interact.

Him.

The one who stole the second prey from her.

 

“Hmm….” She hummed, watching him pat the unfamiliar human on the shoulder.

His friend.

Someone she could use for her own gain. To get her hands on the prey again.

 

She’d be watching this slim girl very closely now. As she disappeared beneath the seafoam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the long wait guys, had some issues and tried to change the layout of the whole story, mainly to include Emily as Lena's girlfriend.  
> It kinda ended bad given how much work I'd already put into this story.
> 
> Yes I am aware that Tracer is in a relationship, I've written about it actually, but for now; the Tracer pairing goes by the original plot and it's WidowTracer.  
> Finally got a boost what with Junkertown being announced as well, the Queen of Junkertown actually helped me push this story along.
> 
> But Spikes officially has returned.


	12. Chapter 12

In the months since that night, Ana and Reinhardt had moved back to the area. Finding a lovely home with a seaside view, which mind you was far from any prying eyes so the Mers had no fear of being spotted.  
They'd had a party in the early stages of Summer. It was high time to get Jamison and Hana back into the water. After all, it wasn't like they'd be alone.  
Angela, Genji, and Lena had swam out to the rock which jutted out of the water. Fareeha doing laps around it with Jesse struggling to keep up with her, her tail a shimmering blue amidst the dark water. Hana was paddling around Lúcio for the time being while Reinhardt was helping Jamison keep himself steady.  
As his fins had been shredded down to the bone, Angela had set to getting the first ever Mer fin prosthetic made. She'd already made sure that Jamison's prosthetic arm was waterproof. Aware that this day would one day come.  
Ana had been instructing Jamison on how to swim. He was, after all, learning how to again. Satya sat on the beach with Hanzo beside her; watching as once Jamison got the hang of it, he launched into the water. Torpedoing around the area with Lena cheering him on.  
Finally something good had happened for once.

It was Ana pulling the group aside to explain that there was still unfinished business back out west. The gang that had tried to off Jesse was close to being taken down forever.  
It was no surprise that Jesse agreed to the notion of going back. "After all, those bastards still think that I'm dead."

They'd taken off for back west; Reinhardt, Ana, Fareeha, Jesse, and Hanzo. Angela and Satya both had work to do. Genji had gotten some big job for Lúcio so those two with Hana and Jamison coming along to help.  
Leaving Lena to house sit Ana and Reinhardt's new home alone. She hadn't minded for the most part, spending most of it watching their TV and leeching off their internet service. As anyone would.  
She got some paid vacation lined up and could relax here for a few days til it was up. After managing to dig out one of those floating lounge chairs, and practically drenching herself in sunscreen, she'd decided to take a little nap whilst relaxing out on the water.  
  
  


She'd been a bit delirious when she'd woken up, shifting slightly and looking around in confusion as to where she was. Still on the lounger and still in the waters near the home. But something had woken her from her sleep and it hadn't been the current.  
Lena sat up from her sitting position in time to see inky blackness near the other end of the lounger. When something surfaced from the waters.  
Something that definitely wasn't like how Angela had met Fareeha or how Lúcio met Hana. Given the glimmering yellow eyes staring straight at her own.  
With a sinking feeling Lena realized that this Mer, was a predator. And she was its prey. She slowly pulled her legs to her chest to limit the space between her and the Mer, before glancing to figure out her path to take. She was too far from the shore, if she even tried to make the swim the Mer could catch her and drag her to drown.  
Her heart was racing as she imagined the gang returning to find Lena nowhere to be seen. Imagining Fareeha having to dive deep only to find her body. Imagining all of her friends sobbing upon learning of her death.  
As two purple, yes they were definitely purple, arms braced on the end of the lounger and it began to sink down into the water. Lena realized she was running out of time. Then her eyes noticed the closest surface, the rock that was jutting out of the water, the same she, Genji, and Angela had been atop of before.  
This was the risk she needed to take as she dove off of the lounger and into the water. This stunning the Mer as they most likely hadn't expected Lena to be that quick.

Lena scrambled up the rocks, before clutching tightly to a small sapling that had been growing there. Staring down at the waters in fear.  
The lounger floated about, the waters going still as her eyes glanced around, searching for the Mer that had had nearly been on her.  
  


She remembered the description that Jamison and Hana had given them, of the Hunter that had nearly taken Jamison's life. They said she'd been blue and even Lúcio had said she was blue. But, what she had seen was most definitely purple or at least a shade of lavender. Besides that, everything else matched with that same Hunter.  
But why her?  
She was just some human and Hana had insisted that Hunters never went after Humans. Fareeha had even reported that while the 'shark' had been seen, it hadn't attacked anyone since Jamison.  
She jumped when she noticed the inky blob appear from the foot of the rocks where she was, before the top half of a face appeared and that pair of yellow eyes looked up at her.  
Before they vanished beneath the waves.

After several minutes of waiting and seeing no sign of the Mer, Lena released her grasp on the sapling before she made her way back into the water. She'd swim to shore and lock herself inside and hope the Mer wouldn't try to imitate the other Mers and come ashore--

Lena's thought process went out the window as when she was about halfway to shore, she felt something grab onto her foot and pull her under the water.  
She felt the scream lodged in her throat but struggled to keep it in as to keep her from losing all of her air at once.  
The Mer, now they never said anything about her being an attractive lady at that. Not that any of them were noticing for that matter. The Mer was a lovely thing to look at, slender, with sharp facial features and small eyes. Her black hair billowing around her in the water like some kind of cloud. Her tail was much different than Ana's or Fareeha's that she was used to. It was sleek and grey, its fins sharp like that of a shark's dorsal fins.  
She felt herself being pulled down further before a pair of hands grasped onto her face, she flailed about, with the hands never releasing their grasp. And then, the Mer leaned in to her face.

"You know where the prey hides." came the haunting voice from the Mer, it made Lena's heart race. It was probably intended to do that. "Give them up, and I will let you live."

It was then that Lena remembered one of the first things she'd said to Hana after learning the truth, _"If this nasty old Hunter bloke comes a looking for you, I'll punch them right in their face."_  
Honoring this promise, Lena swung her arm out and clocked the Mer directly in her face. Stunning her enough for Lena to get out of her grasp and swim to shore frantically.  
She stared at the waters, waiting for something, for anything, to come after her but nothing ever did. She stood there, shivering in the sands before running into the house through the kitchen entrance, locking the door behind her.  
Lena had finally almost caught her breath when the phone rang again, nearly putting her into cardiac arrest. She picked up the phone after taking a few more moments to calm herself.

  
_"Hello Lena,"_   greeted Ana, _"just calling to tell you that we're all done out here and will be back by Monday morning."_  
She was shaking again, trying to speak, her voice coming out in a terrified squeak.  
Ana must've sensed this. _"Lena? What's wrong?"_  
Lena finally found her voice after struggling, "Ana? We.... We have a situation."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peeps, remember me?  
> Glad to be back after a long time with the next chapter of Spikes.  
> As stated, I'm keeping the original plot of WidowTracer, and while I know Lena has a girlfriend in canon (and I've acknowledged this in my most recent works), this fic was developed LONG before the current canon.
> 
> Also I've decided to bring an unplanned ship into the mix. Who exactly? You'll just have to wait and find out.
> 
> Come yell at me on my Tumblr  
> http://karmasvengence.tumblr.com/


	13. Chapter 13

Mei scratched her head at the current predicament that she was currently in. She had no idea how to go about this exactly. She was just a climatologist, she had no idea how to go about explaining the existence of well... _this_.  
So she had no other choice but to call Fareeha, she was the Harbormaster of the local fishing docks after all. Maybe she'd know how to go about this.  
  


She heard the buzzer go off and ran to get the door. Her workspace was close by the sea, it was her main place of employment and research mainly. "Thanks for coming on such short notice, Fareeha." she thanked the woman. She waved her hand. "It's no problem, I'm glad to be back to work."  
"How was that vacation you guys went on?" Mei asked. As the pair stepped down the stairs of the facility.  
"Fine, fine. Jesse was trying to impress his boyfriend and fell into the water. You ever seen a cowboy try to swim?" Fareeha replied before both were laughing. Fareeha wiped her tears away. "Anyway, what seems to be the problem?"  
Mei hesitated upon this question. "Well... I take samples of the ocean water, to see if its being affected by local pollution and anything else. And I might've accidentally... caught something in a latest containment."  
"Caught something?" Fareeha raised her eyebrow as she looked down at Mei.  
"I might've caught something... big. I'm not really sure what to do exactly." Mei paused at the door. "Just... look for yourself. You're the first person I've told."  
  
Fareeha stepped into the office, noting Mei's desk to her left, where all her papers and files were arranged neatly. To her right was Mei's area where she did most of her studying. And standing across from her was a massive wall of glass. This tank was meant to contain whatever Mei could take samples of for her study and research.  
"I'll go make us some tea, this might take a while." Mei said, pointing behind herself.  
"Take your time, I'll figure out what's going on." Fareeha reassured her as the door shut. She crinkled her neck before making her approach of the tank. She studied the waters with sharp eyes. The fish naturally swimming from her as they recognized what she really was.  
Fareeha jerked back as she witnessed one of the fish being caught and crushed by a large hand. This made her take a step back as a large form that the hand belonged to appeared in view on the other side of the glass.

The thing was huge, bigger than anything she'd seen in all her years. The fin was sharp and a faint blue color, the dorsal fins looked torn from fights. A spans of tanned skin littered with scars and other old wounds. A strange intricate mask that looks as though it had been fashioned from parts of old tires. But the biggest striking feature was the mass of white hair from the head, which floated amidst the water.  
This was a Mer. And a very battle hardened one at that.

  
"What do you want, human?" came the grumble from within the glass.  
This made Fareeha lean back with her arms crossed. "Wrong species." she said, flashing the glossy glimmer of her Mer eyes. "I came here because that tiny researcher, who is one of my closest friends, said she found something and didn't say what. I can now see that that something is a Mer."  
He paused. "Barracuda, huh? Don't see much of your kind where I'm from."  
"Wonder why that is." she mused, "So, why are you here?"  
This question made the Mer lean in, she could see tired grey eyes from beneath the mask. "I tracked a Hunter here, a Hunter who came after two people I care about and probably was trailing them."  
"Gonna take a guess that these people you're talking about are Puffers, right?" she asked, jumping back as the Mer lunged at the glass, slamming his fist into it with enough force to shake objects in the room.  
**"YOU KNOW ABOUT THEM!"** he snarled, she could almost hear the scrap of sharp teeth with this.  
"Easy!" She spoke, holding her hand up as she reached to her back pocket for her phone. She flipped through it quickly before pointing it towards the Mer. "These them?"  
The photo was of Jamison and Hana from back before she had gone for her trip, the two were in the waters, splashing about and laughing. This brought a reaction to the Mer, who's shoulders dropped and he leaned more to the glass to look. "Junkrat.... Hana..." he spoke, before looking to Fareeha.  
"I know them, had two humans that I know found both of them. They're safe. In fact, that little researcher back there lives in the same building where they are." Fareeha explained, "Jamie was attacked by the Hunter, she took off his arm and shredded most of his fins. But he's still alive."  
"Jamie?"  
"Junkrat's not exactly a name to use on land. The human who found him named him Jamison so he could get help. Name's stuck ever since." Fareeha put her phone away. "I'm Fareeha, and you are?"  
The larger mer paused before replying, "Mako."

 

  
Took a bit of urging from Fareeha to get Mei out of her facility and getting Mako into a transport vehicle. She hadn't told Mei the truth just yet, she needed everyone with her to do it.  
They had already been on edge for the past two weeks since Lena was grabbed by the Hunter in Ana's own territory. That hadn't made her happy one bit. Now there was this. She had texted the group chat she had with Genji and Angela, informing them to get Jamie and Hana to her Mom's home. Said it was urgent. Angela had tried to ask questions, Fareeha had only responded with a picture she'd taken of Mako. That had made Angela go silent.  
She then had to make a call to her Mom and Reinhardt so that they were in on what was happening as well.  
After ending the call, she looked towards Mei out of the corner of her eye. She had been a good friend, which made telling this secret even worse.

She had arrived at her Mom's home first, as evident by the lack of vehicles in the drive. Luckily Reinhardt had a boat launch and they could use that to get Mako into the water.  
She tapped her hand on the side of the truck after parking it into position. "Hey, Mako. We're here, be ready."  
There was a grunt from within, Fareeha took that to opening the trailer. Feeling a breeze as Mako dove out into the waters. She stared after him, while Mei was greeting and shaking Ana's hand. "Its so nice to finally meet you, Ms Amari. I've heard so much about you."  
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you then." Ana had said with a soft smile.

A vehicle pulled into the driveway barely parking, before Genji came running over, being caught in Fareeha's arms. "Are you okay? That Mer didn't hurt you did he?" he was questioning, while Fareeha soothed him calmly. "It's fine, I'm okay."  
She caught sight of Satya, Lúcio, Jamie, and Hana getting out of Genji's car, all of which seemed confused by what was going on. Moments later, Angela arrived and with Lena along with her.  
Mei was a bit worried by the sudden influx of people. Ana had suggested that they head inside to talk, whilst also urging Hana and Jamie to get ready to swim. Which both didn't seem to mind, but Hana looked worried as she watched Mei get corralled into the home.

 

They told Mei what they were. Ana, Fareeha, Jamie, Hana. All of them, not human at all. All of them were Mers. She had sat there, a bit stunned as to be fairly expected. They explained the story from the beginning.  
From Jesse's first meeting of the Mother and Daughter pair leading into Hana's explanation of what Puffers even were exactly and ending in the retelling of Lena being targeted by the same Hunter that had attacked the pair before.  
Mei had agreed to keep it secret, and sworn that Fareeha was the first person that she had contacted about the situation. That's when everyone began asking what the situation was exactly. For that, Fareeha brought them out to the beach area.  
There was a pause from Fareeha until she gave a loud whistle out to the water. The Mer she'd brought here surfaced from the waters, his hair floating like that of a jellyfish on the surface.  
Seeing the mask surface had made Hana yell as she ran into the water, Jamie being behind her, trying to yank off his prosthetic leg as he did. They had both dressed down to only XXL shirts that used to belong to Reinhardt.  
  
Hana propelled herself into the larger Mer, hugging tightly to him. Jamie not far behind her, struggling a bit more due to his tail being a bit lopsided, but he still managed to reach the Mer, hugging onto him tightly.  
He encircled two large arms around the two, holding them close as everyone on the beach began to hear him weep.

They'd finally found Mako, their original family was back together once more.

 

  
It had taken a lot of convincing to get Mako to beach himself and allow his fin to fade into legs. Luckily, despite his massive size, Reinhardt's extra clothes were able to fit him. He had, despite this, refused to take off the makeshift tire mask.  
Upon showing him the extent of Jamie's damage in his land and aquatic variations did Mako gain a dark look in his eyes. "I'll kill that fucking Hunter." he had snarled.  
"Don't worry, Mate, I clocked her in the face for good measure." Jamie had assured him.  
  
"Mako, what even happened? After Jamie and I managed to get away?" Hana asked. Mako looked down, his eyes raising to spy everyone was listening in to the conversation.  
"We fought, as sharks tend to do, wounded her a good bit, on her back mainly. But she was a lot faster, got my fins good." Mako explained, "Fight weakened me, so she took off after you two. Probably thought I couldn't keep pace with her, but I did."  
"You followed one shark Mer for hundreds of miles and managed to keep up despite your own wounds?" Fareeha had asked.  
Mako looked towards her. "Wasn't hard, only thing I had to do was follow the blood in the water. Found my way here after a while. Didn't see any sign of these two here so I stayed out of sight. Mainly to keep that Hunter bitch from seeing me, but I can tell you this. She's still around."  
"What's the story with that Hunter anyways?" Lúcio asked.

Jamison groaned, drawing the attention now. "She's hunted me before I ever met Mako here and Hana, and even then, I barely managed to escape her. She's a Tiger Shark variety of Mer, and well, she's kinda immune to a Puffers' poison... to an extent." he explained.  
"To an extent?" Lúcio repeated.  
"Is that why she's bloody purple?" Lena questioned.  
"Exactly why mate." Jamison answered, pointing to Lena. "Our poison did that to her. Now, we don't know her full story; given she's too busy what with hunting us nonstop to converse with us, but we all know her by one name."  
Hana continued, "The Widowmaker."  
There was a reaction in Ana, who grit her teeth and squeezed her hands so tight that her knuckles had turned white. Everyone who knew Ana were looking at her in confusion, all except for Fareeha. She looked to her Mother before looking back to the group. And what she said next shocked all that were currently present;  
  
"The Hunter known as Widowmaker is the same Mer who destroyed my Mother's eye."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to Spikes, damn 13th chapter? That's a bit of a surprise if I do say so myself.  
> We're moving on in plot and Roadhog officially makes his debut and unlike what previous chapters made it out to be, he is in fact still alive.


End file.
